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College QB among Padres' 40 Draft signees

College QB among Padres' 40 Draft signees

LOS ANGELES -- The Padres signed 40 of the 44 players they picked in June's First-Year Player Draft, with the last player they selected actually being the last one they signed.

On Friday, the deadline to sign players from this Draft, the Padres agreed to terms with pitcher Terrance Owens from the University of Toledo. Owens doesn't actually play baseball at Toledo but, instead, is an athletic quarterback with limited baseball experience.

"We took a guy who is a long shot ... but he's a long shot worth taking," said Chad MacDonald, who is the Padres' assistant general manager of player personnel.

MacDonald said Owens' commitment now is to football, and he's part of the competition to become the Rockets' starting quarterback. Owens wouldn't start his professional baseball career until 2013 at the earliest.

The Padres control his rights for the next 6 1/2 years, meaning that if or when Owens decides to give baseball his full attention, he'll continue to be a member of the organization.

MacDonald joked Friday that he and members of the organization might head to Tucson on Sept. 1 as Owens' Rockets take on the University of Arizona in a non-conference game.

The Padres signed 21 of their top 22 Draft picks, including their first-round pick, left-handed pitcher Max Fried, who was the seventh overall selection.

"We're very happy that our scouting staff, led by Jaron Madison, got us the guys we wanted and knew their signability," MacDonald said. "We evaluated them the right way and now they're out playing and we're looking forward to letting them progress."